All Time

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

CORON: 04 - Hidden Lagoon + Calachuchi + Bulungan

Our lesson for today is the first
three locations of Coron Galeri’s B-1 Tour package. Or was that B-2? Damn, I
already forgot! HAHAHA. Anyway, I grouped the destinations by location, meaning
the three referred to above are the first three to be seen, although not
particularly the first ones visited in the case of Bulungan. In other news, today
was awesome because my Pentax dilemma has finally been solved. The camera is
not a joke. It takes good pictures and videos underwater. If you want proof, just
see the video below! I usually do not splurge on gadgets but I am now convinced
that this is a good investment.

You have to be at Coron Galeri by
8:30 AM. Walk to the pier with your group for five minutes or so, passing
through the market. Board the boat, and go to wherever it is that you are
headed to for the day. For today, the boat ride was just 20 minutes away from
the first destination, which was Hidden Lagoon. How hidden then was Hidden
Lagoon?

Well, not so hidden, although you
would have to pass by a few cliffs to get there. The lagoon itself is obscured
from plain view, thus the name. What to do here? This is not yet the place to
find Nemo. All I ever found were small fish too camera shy for their own good.
There were some corals here and there but the main feature of this lagoon that
is probably noteworthy would be the white sand surface that is visible even
from the boat. The water seems to be that clear. It is clear underneath but
somehow looks all boring because of the absence of any activity, as if all the
fish were on recess or something. What best thing to do here, then? SWIM!

One amazing realization Hidden
Lagoon has thought me is that sea water makes you float. Weh? Believe me when I
say so. Here is the catch: people usually panic when tossed to the sea. Who
would not? I mean, we always have this pronounced fear of the unknown and the
uncertain. I jumped without a life vest and obviously sank as I touched the
water. That is normal. Stop panicking and lay still. You will notice that you
would only sink until half of your face is submerged, including your nose,
which probably contributes to the panic. Other than that, there is no more
sinking for you, unless they strap you to the anchor. If you are still not
convinced, lie on your back. That solves the breathing problem. And there you
go, Hidden Lagoon, the best place to swim because it is so damn peaceful! I
think it even cured my annoyance with sea water!

We stayed at Hidden Lagoon for
almost an hour. It was a relaxing swim. The next destination is Calachuchi
Island, which is a rather small islet with the said plants abundant on it. The
boatman said that one could get on it but it is not recommended because of the
sharp rocks that make up the ground. The real attraction here is not the islet
itself but rather what you see underneath. Yes, fish. NEMO!!!

It was high time for Nemo and I
to finally meet. It was quite evident even from the boat that the sea floor under
us was full of new worlds to discover. Corals and fish abound, that part of the
ocean was conquered by Pentax, my new best friend. After accidentally falling
on purpose (Refer to the video. I am a retard, deal with it) I immediately
witnessed how beautiful the world where I was swimming was. Little Mermaid was
an idiot for preferring land over ocean. The sea obviously has more to offer.
What disappointed me were the occasional blurry apparitions. You have to
forgive me about this because I have never really explored the deep blue
before, and so my sole point of reference are National Geographic’s glossy
documentaries that drown you with colors. Under the sea, in person, not
everything is as magazine perfect, but heck, they are colorful nonetheless. And
then I saw Nemo.

Sorry, I just love that movie so
much, and so when I finally met Nemo and his many clones I could not help but
abuse Pentax by shooting one video right after another, and then shifting at
once to photo mode so I could snap pictures too. I have never been that
enthusiastic in documenting my adventures. Life under the sea has seriously
caused me a new obsession. The problem was not with sinking, but rather on how
to stay under water. At sea you would think that your biggest problem would be
keeping your head above water. Well, in open swimming and underwater
photography without the aid of either fins or snorkel, all you have are your
limbs to keep you down there. Wrapping my legs around the base of the boat’s
ladder a la Cirque du Soleil trapeze artist seemed to be the best bet. Free
diving proved to be futile given my lack of muscular strength. Still, it did
not prevent me from taking loads of photos and videos. I hope my Samsung Galaxy
S would not mind, but I am really beginning to like Pentax a lot.

That feeling of awesomeness under
water is hard to brush off but there will come a time when the corals start to
resemble human brains and your companions start cursing you in thought bubbles
because you are the only one enjoying. Not everyone has a waterproof camera
nowadays. The boatman would then point to a beach called Bulungan where you
would all be going for lunch, but not after that hike to Kayangan Lake. So yes,
you have to earn your lunch, people!

Bulungan Beach is not really that
fantastic. It is quite small, with only a few huts, the existence of which seem
to be all for picnic purposes. The shore is narrow so sun bathing is not really
recommended. You have lunch there, period. Yes, after Kayangan Lake. End of
story. What do we still have left for the next entry? We have Kayangan Lake,
Twin Peaks (a pair of islands hiding more marine life underneath), and CYC (another
beach popular for its knee high waters).

2
creature/s gave a damn:

Anonymous
said...

Coron belongs to my top 3 islands in PI. I love the island I remember telling myself that if I were to build my resort or resthouse, it should be here. You have been to a lot of places. Hope we bump on each other one day. -JJ